stalkerbunny (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
stalkerbunny) wrote2013-04-30 12:24 am
stalkerbunny) wrote2013-04-30 12:24 am
Entry tags:
Stuff I did on the weekend
when it was also my birthday. Got a gift card (anyone want to go shopping with me and help me pick things it's hard...?), a lovely giant colourful cup, v. tasty tea and hair things. One of which is a mint green bow clip yessss.
So, on saturday I first saw gluecookie and we watched five first episodes of the 1955- Scarlet Pimpernel tv-series. We have a project to see ALL the adaptations we can find (really need to read the original story asap...).
So far we've watched the 1934 movie (with Leslie Howard and Merle Oberon in lead roles) and the first part of the 1999- tv series (and I've seen almost all the rest but it's not really as good imo) and now started on the fifties series. Also apparently there is a movie from early eighties with Ian McKellen as Chauvelin (the sort of main baddie) so I hope we get to see that too.
So far... 90s series is the grim and gritty version (characters die! Even main characters die! sex and violence!). It also has scripting issues, the first part which covers the original plot is kind of confusing and the following eps rather meh, ESPECIALLY season 2 which also seems to suffer from lack of funds in a rather visible way with beautiful but empty looking sets, alas. Or maybe everyone was just killed off and that's why Paris only has five peasants left who march about shouting slogans. :P
On the plus side, there are pretty costumes and Richard E. Grant as Percy and Elizabeth McGovern as Marguerite are delightfully snarky. Especially Marguerite. Also they're gorgeous people. Other things... yes, most creepy Chauvelin, in part due to the obvious sexual undertones of his antagonism with Marguerite. Who, it might be mentioned, puts him down pretty coolly in the end.
The fifties series is rather on the opposite end, at leas so far it's been as lighthearted as a series set during the reign of terror can be. No Marguerite at all so far, instead Percy goes around kissing everyone. Including Chauvelin (twice, and once he hangs all over him and then leaves him a love note. "--those Frenchies MISS him everywhere..." Percy plz). Also it gets ever harder to take Chauvelin seriously as a threat every time he's defeated in a hilarious fashion (in each 20 min. episode)... *headshake*
Other cool things about that serial: IT HAS YOUNG PATRICK TROUGHTON OMG. Such a cutie. He plays Andrew Ffoulkes, who doesn't really get enough screen-time but then again we kept dropping everything and swooning/cooing every time he appeared so might have been just as well. Also he is credited as Pat Troughton, what was up with that? x''D
Not so cool things: One episode has a bad case of racism and it was icky.
And I need to re-watch the movie sometime... but it is rather lovely.
After that, I went over to M's place and we had no funny DW episodes at hand so we ended up watching... Sabrina the Teenaged Witch. Since we discovered a while ago her family owns a DVD set for an unknown reason. I used to watch that as a kid/preteen and 1)It was about as bad/mediocre as I expected and 2)I got painful nineties flashbacks from the visuals/costuming. Argh.
On the other hand, Salem is basically the Master. I mean, he is a sarcastic, self-centered wizard who got turned into a cat as punishment for trying to take over the world. In the episode A Girl and Her Cat we further find out he worked with a guy called Salamander who was turned into a newt.
Salem also gets catnapped by a kid called Rex who ends up mildly disturbed by the end. I rest my case.
EDIT: Oh, and we also listened to LIVE-34, which is a Seven, Ace and Hex audio entirely in the form of a live radio newscast. Interesting in itself due to the format, and rather suited to be listened from a tiny portable loudspeaker. One feels transported into the story, almost.
Also watched Journey into the Heart of the Tardis which was kind of disappointing. Needed more exploring and less monster chases. Visuals were pretty, when WE GOT TO LOOK AT THEM instead of blurry monsters. Bit of a wasted opportunity imo. =A=
It reminded me of the confusing plot and running around in Castrovalva, except Castrovalva was also fun and campy and had (more) fun character moments. So meh.
So, on saturday I first saw gluecookie and we watched five first episodes of the 1955- Scarlet Pimpernel tv-series. We have a project to see ALL the adaptations we can find (really need to read the original story asap...).
So far we've watched the 1934 movie (with Leslie Howard and Merle Oberon in lead roles) and the first part of the 1999- tv series (and I've seen almost all the rest but it's not really as good imo) and now started on the fifties series. Also apparently there is a movie from early eighties with Ian McKellen as Chauvelin (the sort of main baddie) so I hope we get to see that too.
So far... 90s series is the grim and gritty version (characters die! Even main characters die! sex and violence!). It also has scripting issues, the first part which covers the original plot is kind of confusing and the following eps rather meh, ESPECIALLY season 2 which also seems to suffer from lack of funds in a rather visible way with beautiful but empty looking sets, alas. Or maybe everyone was just killed off and that's why Paris only has five peasants left who march about shouting slogans. :P
On the plus side, there are pretty costumes and Richard E. Grant as Percy and Elizabeth McGovern as Marguerite are delightfully snarky. Especially Marguerite. Also they're gorgeous people. Other things... yes, most creepy Chauvelin, in part due to the obvious sexual undertones of his antagonism with Marguerite. Who, it might be mentioned, puts him down pretty coolly in the end.
The fifties series is rather on the opposite end, at leas so far it's been as lighthearted as a series set during the reign of terror can be. No Marguerite at all so far, instead Percy goes around kissing everyone. Including Chauvelin (twice, and once he hangs all over him and then leaves him a love note. "--those Frenchies MISS him everywhere..." Percy plz). Also it gets ever harder to take Chauvelin seriously as a threat every time he's defeated in a hilarious fashion (in each 20 min. episode)... *headshake*
Other cool things about that serial: IT HAS YOUNG PATRICK TROUGHTON OMG. Such a cutie. He plays Andrew Ffoulkes, who doesn't really get enough screen-time but then again we kept dropping everything and swooning/cooing every time he appeared so might have been just as well. Also he is credited as Pat Troughton, what was up with that? x''D
Not so cool things: One episode has a bad case of racism and it was icky.
And I need to re-watch the movie sometime... but it is rather lovely.
After that, I went over to M's place and we had no funny DW episodes at hand so we ended up watching... Sabrina the Teenaged Witch. Since we discovered a while ago her family owns a DVD set for an unknown reason. I used to watch that as a kid/preteen and 1)It was about as bad/mediocre as I expected and 2)I got painful nineties flashbacks from the visuals/costuming. Argh.
On the other hand, Salem is basically the Master. I mean, he is a sarcastic, self-centered wizard who got turned into a cat as punishment for trying to take over the world. In the episode A Girl and Her Cat we further find out he worked with a guy called Salamander who was turned into a newt.
Salem also gets catnapped by a kid called Rex who ends up mildly disturbed by the end. I rest my case.
EDIT: Oh, and we also listened to LIVE-34, which is a Seven, Ace and Hex audio entirely in the form of a live radio newscast. Interesting in itself due to the format, and rather suited to be listened from a tiny portable loudspeaker. One feels transported into the story, almost.
Also watched Journey into the Heart of the Tardis which was kind of disappointing. Needed more exploring and less monster chases. Visuals were pretty, when WE GOT TO LOOK AT THEM instead of blurry monsters. Bit of a wasted opportunity imo. =A=
It reminded me of the confusing plot and running around in Castrovalva, except Castrovalva was also fun and campy and had (more) fun character moments. So meh.